A warning from the trenches - Messing with endorphins may be hazardous to your family!
Michele started on LDN April 26th. We found a neurologist in PA who was able to do a telemedicine consult and then prescribe 3.5mg nightly. The dose was reduced from the standard 4.5mg because of Michele's spasticity.
The first few nights were laced with dreams, nightmares, and restlessness - while the days were filled with hypersensitive emotions and anger outbursts towards the rest of us in the house. Luckily I prepped our children to understand that this was a possibility and they are cool with a little trouble now as a tradeoff for stopping the coming terminal progression of Michele's MS.
Am I dreaming that Michele will walk again? Yes, I am. But that may be some years into the future, and it will probably be another treatment besides LDN that makes that happen. It is our hope that the LDN sill simply stop the MS in it's tracks long enough for a recovery treatment to become available.
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Narcan: FDA approved since 1984
Narcan, also called Naltrexone, has been FDA approved since 1984 for reversal of narcotics overdose. It reverses the sedating effect of opiates by binding to the opioid receptors in the brain. Narcan is available in the hospital operating room where anesthesiologists use it to wake up the patient after the operation. It was a surprise for me to find out that this commonly used drug has other very important uses at a much lower dosage as an oral capsule. Medical scientists have been carefully studying its effect on the immune system, and its clinical benefits for a host of disease states for the past 20 years.
Low Dose Naltrexone, (LDN), How Does it Work?
The beneficial effect of low dose naltrexone, LDN, was discovered by Bernard Bihari, MD, a physician in New York City who found that a small dose (3 mg) of naltrexone taken as a capsule at bedtime blocks the opiate receptors in the brain for a few hours during sleep, which then stimulates the brain to increase production of endorphins over the next 24 hours. These endorphins then stimulate the immune system. Although Bihari did much of the early clinical work, Zagon did much of the groundwork with animal research studies at Pennsylvania State University.
LDN Effective for Crohn's Disease
A recent publication in the Jan 2007 Journal of Gasteroenterology on the use of LDN in Crohn's Disease, was the first breakthrough publication to appear entitled,
Low-Dose Naltrexone Therapy Improves Active Crohn's Disease by Jill Smith MD.
For a more complete review with links to references, see my newsletter:
Low Dose Naltrexone LDN by Jeffrey Dach MD
Jeffrey Dach MD
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